Having the appropriate postpartum essentials during your transition to motherhood makes a world of difference in your postpartum experience.
You have your nursery all set, all new clothes and goodies for when the baby arrives, and there’s anticipation in the air for postpartum.
Are you all set for what you need to succeed as a new mama?
I promise that having a Pinterest-ready nursery is not the end-be-all of an excellent postpartum experience.
I bet you won’t use the nursery for the first few months out of convenience.
You are in the home stretch, an exciting but stressful time.
You have no idea how it’s going down; all you can do is wait.
Ensuring you have the proper postpartum supplies to help support you through this challenging postpartum stage is essential.
Finding the proper postpartum necessities can be difficult. However, I only needed a few fundamental materials at the end of the day.
Less is more, I found.
I needed only a few material things at the end of the day.
Of course, many things are helpful for postpartum.
As a mama who wanted to heal as quickly as possible, these are the postpartum essentials that helped me feel my best the fastest!
The Best Postpartum Essentials
A Third Body to Help You Transition With Baby Those First Few Weeks
Regarding postnatal care, having a third person during those first 3 weeks can make a massive difference during your adjustment period as a mother.
This can be a big ask and super hard for some people.
However, this is one of the most helpful tips I have received.
My family lives across the country, so I asked my mom if she would stay with us and help during the first few weeks while we get a grip.
I do not know how I would have gotten through those first three weeks without another pair of hands in addition to my husband helping.
My husband and I were up almost all night every night for the first week with a baby with an undiagnosed lactose sensitivity (she was crying from 7 pm-1 am straight that first week.
That wouldn’t mean she fell back asleep, though. She would wake up a couple of hours later.
As miserable as the nights were for that first couple of weeks, my mom was able to take the morning shift at 7 am, and that would enable us to go to bed and sleep.
She would help clean, do laundry, cook food, watch my daughter, feed her, and give us the ultimate support we needed during that time.
While trying to get your footing again after the baby arrives, having someone to help with the essential yet mundane work that needs to be done takes a load off of two stressful new parents.
It helps you just focus on what is essential, bonding with the baby.
No need to worry about a pile of dishes in the sink or no clean clothes to wear.
A third party can take care of everything so you can get back your rest and balance!
When she left after a few weeks, we had gotten into a little groove and were more confident with our new arrival.
We sent her a bouquet to her house for when she got back home to say thank you.
Whether it be a family member, a friend, or even a postpartum nurse, I strongly suggest getting someone to stay with you for the first 2-4 weeks to help you heal from childbirth and get your bearings on motherhood.
Postpartum nurses have care packages that you can pick to meet the demands you need.
Could you imagine having a nurse for the baby that comes in for a handful of nights a week so you can get rest?
Even if it means you are saving up money from the second you found out you were pregnant to hire a postpartum nurse, I promise you it will be some of the best money you have ever spent.
I suggest putting a donation jar on your registry to hire a baby nurse for postpartum help.
Frida Mom Postpartum Recovery Essentials Kit
Hospital Recovery Kit
Highlights: Great for first time moms and hosptial births
Price⎜$99
If you are about to be a first time mom, his Frida Postpartum Essentials Recovery kit is great for first-time moms.
It has a variety of supplies you may need during your recovery.
- Upside Down Peri Bottle
- Ice Maxi Pads
- Perennial Healing Foam
- Postpartum Undies
- Perennial Cooling Liner Pads
- Socks
- Delivery/Nursing Gown
- Travel Bag
I ended up getting everything separately down the line because I didn’t think I would need it all because the hospital was supposed to provide us with some similar essentials, but to be honest, they weren’t nearly as good.
That’s why I ended up buying it all anyway.
If you’re going to be a mom for the first time, the Frida Mom Postpartum Recovery Essentials kit is great and way cheaper than buying the products in the kit separately.
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Postpartum Girdle Compression Wear
Postpartum Belly Wrapping
Highlights⎜May help reduce swelling + fluids
Price⎜$20
Postpartum belly wrapping and compression is practiced in African and Indian cultures.
It is said to help:
- Reduce Postpartum Swelling
- Reduce Excess Fluids
- Aid in organs moving back in place
- Reduce your uterus back to it’s original size.
- Supports closing of the abdominal muscles
- Alleviate Back Pain
There are tons of these waist trainers, and postpartum girdles.
I got this 3 in 1 Postpartum Belly band on amazon, and It was a game changer with my pooch.
Any kind of compression band will work, though by giving you the belly bind you need.
You don’t have to spend much money to get decent results.
If you’re an expecting first-time mom, I have to tell you after you have your baby, you will still most likely look around six months pregnant.
It takes some time for the uterus to shrink to its standard size as it excretes more fluid and blood.
I found this is generally an African and Indian practice for women recovering from birth.
Some people also view it as postpartum waist training.
The compression wear helps by putting pressure back against your abdomen to help the uterus heal by expelling more blood and fluid.
I loved wearing it.
After feeling so big and stretched for months, it felt nice to feel like I had a hug around me all the time, and my belly looked slightly normal.
Every time I took it off, I would have already reduced 1-2 inches each time, no joke.
Not only that but I started to feel better about my body image.
By about 4 weeks postpartum, my stomach was back to normal.
I attribute it to compression and this postpartum girdle!
Super Absorbent Pads
Great For Postpartum Bleeding
Highlights⎜Super absorbent + Great to add with postpartum underwear
Price⎜$6
Since you went so long without your period, you have around a 3-8 week long period headed your way soon.
After birth, you bleed and release a ton of fluid that you have been carrying for months.
It will feel like a super long period.
You may also have some clotting as well.
For me, what was helpful were the most absorbent pads you can find.
I used these Stay Free Overnight Absorbent Pads built for multi-fluid protection. They’re cheap, and they work.
Some people like to use this absorbent underwear to put the pad on, and you can do this.
I did, and it was comfortable and helpful.
However, I never bled enough to where I needed the absorbent undies and could have gone without.
Everyone is different, though.
It doesn’t hurt to get a little batch of them initially, and if you feel like you need more, that’s the way to go.
I had so many of these undies and just use them now for heavy period days to get rid of them.
I found the pads to be much more helpful than the underwear.
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Pink Stork Postpartum Mood Support Vitamins
Balances hormones + Mood Enhancing
Highlights: Ashwaghanda for mood balance
Price⎜$40
Your hormones are going to tank after delivery.
It will hit you like a bag of bricks. Any sort of mood enhancement is helpful during those very trying early postpartum weeks.
Pink Stork Postpartum Mood Support is one of the best health supplements for postpartum mood disorders.
I found a massive difference In my mood while taking it.
It is generally used to help with depression, anxiety, and weight loss.
I can’t describe how much better my mood is when taking it.
I’m still taking it.
It helps take the edge off.
It gave me more stamina, energy, patience, and bandwidth to care for my daughter.
If I stop taking it for a few days, I notice a substantial increase in my overall mood.
I’m more irritable, short-tempered, and testy.
Not very good feelings.
When you look at the ingredients, the main active ingredient is almost ALWAYS Ashwagandha.
I strongly suggest having it in your stash before the baby comes.
It will be a lifesaver.
I asked my Doctor before discharge if It was safe for me (I did not breastfeed), and he said it was fine and just to keep an eye on my mood.
If you struggle with depression in general, or anxiety, it is best to have this stashed in your kit after birth!
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Tucks Pads
Great For Soothing Your Lady Bits
Highlights⎜Witch Hazel For Healing and Soothing
Price⎜$8
Tucks pads are a staple for hemorrhoid healing and postpartum soothing.
You can expect the hospital to give you a small stash during your visit but you will need more.
They are like little cotton pads you have to line up on your postpartum pad to help sooth your vulva and labia.
The tucks pads are especially helpful if you underwent an episiotomy or tore like I did.
It will help you heal faster and keep the area clean.
They are super cheap and you most likely will only need a couple of boxes during your fourth trimester depending on the state of any injuries you obtained during labor.
Sitz Bath Salt
Helps Soothe & Heal
Highlights⎜Vegan + Cruelty Free + Relieves Sore Muscles
Price⎜$14
Partaking in a Sitz bath is a postpartum must.
Your lady bits down under took a beating whether you tore, had an episiotomy or not, they need some TLC!
Containing natural herbs and essential oils, I attribute this Sitz bath to my healing so quickly.
I had a second degree tear and frequently felt the second I would poop I would rip a new a**hole.
This Sitz bath along with using Witch Hazel helped my lady bits soothe and heal, leaving that gross tearing worry in the past.
Not only that, it’s super relaxing to place your bum and lady bits in warm water.
Not only is it important for your healing but also part of your self care.
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Yoni Steam Herbs
Great For Detoxing Discharge + Lochia
Highlights⎜Calendula + MugWort + Red Raspberry Leaf For Healing
Price⎜$13
I LOVED this Yoni Steam.
I am a firm believer of Yoni Steams and the amazing benefits they contain for vaginal health.
I know not everyone is into it but African cultures have used yoni steams as a means to recover from postpartum for decades.
The herbs in a yoni steam can be incredibly soothing and may help discharge the lochia and blood still remaining in your uterus.
I believe my use of the yoni steam helped my postpartum bleeding immensly.
By week 4 on the dot, I was no longer bleeding.
The less you have to deal with the postpartum bleeding the better.
I had a rotation of using the yoni steam and sitz bath and using these in conjuction helped my lady bits externally and internally come back to equilibrium.
Not to mention it’s an incredibly soothing experience!
Sitz Bath Toilet Seat
Holds All The Bath Ingredients
Highlights⎜Simple + Light + Cheap
Price⎜$13
Now that you have a Sitz and Yoni steam formula, you need something to hold all that in!
You don’t need anything fancy, a simple seat is fine without the bells and whistles.
I used this one for both my Yoni Steams and Sitz Baths.
Clean it after each use and you’re golden!
Dermoplast Pain Spray
Helps Sooth + Heal Lady Bits
Highlights⎜Hosptial Grade Benzocain For Pain
Price⎜$7
You will receive a small bottle of Dermoplast at the hospital, however it won’t last you long!
This guy is a must have for your lady bits.
Especially if you tore or had an epesiotomy as. ithelps heal minor cuts, scrathes and burns.
Even if you didn’t tear, you still were stretched beyond belief and you WILL be sore regardless.
The Dermoplast will become a staple in your postpartum healing process for sure, and, it’s cheap!
FridaBaby Healing Foam
Helps Keep Your Labia + Vulva Clean + Soothes
Highlights⎜Witch Hazel + No Fragrences
Price⎜$13
If you choose to not get the full FridaBaby Postpartum kit mentioned earlier, no worries, I didn’t either, I just cherry picked what I felt I needed from it.
Like this Perenial Foam!
This was a staple in my postpartum recovery.
The foam is a nice and gentle consistency and If my lady bits could talk, every time I applied this foam they would say ” Ahhhhhh.”
You feel clean and you know it’s helping you heal and feel better.
Just add a couple squirts on your pad as the last step and you’re good!
Peri Bottle
Helps Keep Those Lady Bits Clean
Highlights⎜Angled Spout + 10 Water Holes Instead of traditional 6 For Better Cleaning
Price⎜$12
If you don’t have a bidet ( which you totally need you will NEVER go back once you do ), you need a peri bottle!
Even though I had a bidet installed in my toilets long before I ever got pregnant, the water preassure was often too strong for my injured lady bits after giving birth.
So I still got a Peri Bottle!
I loved this one for its angled spout, I was able to really get into al the nooks and crannies of my down belows!
It’s also great for travel, I prmise, once you use this, you will never be able to just use simple toilet paper to clean yourself up ever again.
If you don’t get a bidet after you’re healed, I can promise you will never want to poop or pee without one of these bad boys ever again!
A definiete must have!
Reusable Perenial Cooling Pads
Machine Washable + Minimizes Waste
Highlights⎜2 Gel Packs + Three Washable Sleeves For Cooling Healing
Price⎜$8
You can use disposable Cooling Pads but if you want to reduce waste this is the way to go!
You place the gel pads in the freezer and rotate them out as you use them.
Trust me, your p***y is going to be on fire and not the good kind Drag Queens say when they are feeling fierce on the runway, I mean you struggle to walk some days you will be so sore.
The cooling sensation will be soothing and will help draw bood to the area to help heal.
Memory Foam Donut Pillow
Keeps Pressure Off Posptartum Injuries
Highlights⎜Memory Foam + Portable + Promotes Postpartum Healing
Price⎜$30
Remember how sore I said you will be even if you don’t tear?
Well if you do tear, have an epesiotomy or endured hemroids during your pregnancy or got them while pushing, you will NEED a pillow to sit on.
This was something I wish I had postpartum.
I used a goofy plstic inflatable one that wasn’t nearly big or cushy enough for my sore lady bits and butt.
Even though I didn’t breastfeed, I still sat a ton to bottle feed AND for contact naps and to allow my daughter to sleep on me at night.
You need to give your lady bits a chance to breath and if they are subject tok your full weight while breastfeeding or bottle feeding not only will it be painful but it may take longer for the injuries to heal and swelling to go down.
Give your hoo-ha and butt a break, get a memory foam pillow!
Robe
Keeps You Comfy
Highlights⎜Soft + Easy Breastfeeding Access
Price⎜$29
I don’t know about you but I didn’t want to wear any real clothes for weeks after giving birth.
Nothing tight or snug.
I had a few robes I had on rotation during my postpartum period.
It was comfortable, warm and soft.
The robe gave my body the freedom and space it needed to heal but also kept me snug and warm.
It made for easy bathroom visits and the ability to keep easy access to my lady bits.
Postpartum Recovery Tea
Helps Healing From Within
Highlights⎜Red Rasberry Leaf + Ginger
Price⎜$16
Im a huge fan of PinkStork products.
I used a lot of their supplements and teas while pregnant and postpartum.
The PinkStork postpartum healing tea was a great treat to have during my fourth trimester.
I made it part of my morning routine to get me going for the day.
Add some honey and collagen powder for healing and you have a great morning cup of tea.
Healing starts from within, so flooding your body with herbs and vitamins to help heal is essential during your fourth trimester journey.
I attribute much of my swift recovery to this tea!
Vital Protiens Marine Collagen
Helps Heal Skin Ailments and Restores Tissue
Highlights⎜Alaskan White Fish + Non GMO
Price⎜$30
Did you know that collagen plays a huge part in our skin’s ability to recover and heal itself?
Collagen helps repair damaged tissues by letting our skin know it needs to produce more skin cells to turnover the damaged ones.
So not only is collagen awesome for a beauty supplement, but its essential when we have a skin or tissue injury.
We all know how busted or lady bits get after birth.
Adding collagen to your diet during postpartum is a great way to aid in your bodies healing process.
I really believe the collagen helped me heal much faster than I would have otherwise.
Perineal Balm
Keeps Ongoing Recovery
Highlights⎜St Johns Wort + Calendula
Price⎜$24 ( 2 Pack )
Once your lady bits has had some time to heal, your bleeding has subsided and you feel you are on the other side of your healing journey, it helps to keep it going with some perineal balm!
Earth Mama Organic Perineal Balm is a great product to keep the healing going while you are out of the thick of it and your lady bits aren’t so sensitive anymore.
You can graduate from Perineal Foam to a balm!
Keep your labia and vulva on the road to recovery by adding some healing balm every day to ensure it stays healthy and happy!
Postpartum Uplift Tea
Mood Support + Healing
Highlights⎜Nettle + Licorice + Chamomile
Price⎜$16
Pink Stork at it again!
Their Postpartum Uplift Tea is a great mood enhancer during your fourth trimester.
If taking supplements is difficult for you, taking a natural mood enhancement via tea is not only an easier option its also a much more zen like experience.
A perfect morning tea to get your day started, you will feel a difference in your mood when you drink this tea.
I had this tea as a part of my Pink Stork rotation and it made a huge difference in my overall well being.
Keeping it on a subscription is the best way to go if you find out it really helps you!
Magnesium
Keeps The Poops Soft
Highlights⎜Promotes Muscle Relaxtion + Mood Regulation
Price⎜$20
If you’ve ready my Pregnancy Constipation ⎢ Why It Happens and 4 Best Digestive Relief Practices and Baby Constipation⎢ 15 Remedies For Constipation Relief in Babies, you’ll know how essential a diet rich in magnesium is for regularity and your overall health.
Magnesium being a muscle relaxer can help your colon relax and activate the natural peristalsis needed to move poops along the digestive track.
You will find magnesium is a great way to relieve constipation.
Why it’s important during your first trimester is one: You will be sore AF, so having magnesium in your diet will help with that but two: your hoo-ha and butthole will be tender AF, so having soft poops you don’t have to work so hard to push out will make all the difference in your postpartum bathroom experience.
Keep your poops soft and regular using magnesium!
The First Forty Days: The Essential Art of Nourishing the New Mother
Recipes + Meal Prep
Highlights⎜Food For Optimal Recovery
Price⎜FREE ( For Kindle )
If you’re a meal prepper you will love this one!
In The First Forty Days, the author Heng Ou goes over the importance of our diet during postpartum, relationship challenges you may face, and helps us rediscover the importance of slowing down and taking care of ourselves during the fourth trimester in an era where modern moms are pressured to bounce back.
Discover the foods and meal plans to help you heal optimally, so you can just focus on recovery.
Getting the book a before your due date so you can meal prep the recipes before and put them in your freezer so you don’t have to worry about it once baby comes.
Delicious food to help nourish you and baby will be ready to eat!
Good luck
As crazy as it is, we have many options to try and create a postpartum experience that is as smooth sailing as possible.
Hiccups and mistakes are going to happen; it is normal.
Postpartum consists of going to hell and back numerous times a day.
You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you will feel everything in between!
You will get through this, mama! It won’t last forever!
I will continue to make lists of practices and products that helped me through the fourth trimester (it’s a lot, like preparing for battle).
Remember, the fourth trimester is temporary, and you will get through this!
Preparation is key! Just like you prepare for birth, prepare for postpartum.
It’s essential!
Good luck, new mamas. This season too, shall pass.
This post went over the best postpartum essentials for first time moms and new moms to help them with their postpartum healing process.
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